Soba-chan's Dinner Party
by Soba-chan
Summary: Soba-chan just moved to Tokyo and is throwing a housewarming dinner party. She invites most of the main characters from Rurouni Kenshin, including the object of her obsession, Saito Hajime. What could possibly go wrong?


Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Rurouni Kenshin and whatnot...but I do own me and Phyrexia!  
  
  
"Mwraow!"  
  
"Oooh! A kitty! Ken-ni, look!"  
  
"Ken-ni-san! A kitty!"  
  
Kenshin hung up the last peice of laundry on the clothes line and walked over to the Ayame-chan, Suzume-chan, and the tiny black cat. "Hey little kitty, what's that in your mouth de gozaru yo?"  
  
"Mwraow!" The dainty little kitty dropped a pink slip of paper at Kenshin's feet and ran off, rubbing against Ayame-chan's and Suzume-chan's legs on the way.  
  
"Oro?" Kenshin picked up the peice of paper and read:  
  
"Himura Kenshin, Kamiya Kaoru, Sagara Sanosuke, Myoujin Yahiko, Ayame-chan, Suzume-chan, Genzai-sensei, and Takani Megumi, You have been invited to Soba-chan's housewarming dinner party! Formal dress is optional, just bring your appetite!"  
  
The address, date, and time were written underneath this. Kenshin pondered this invitation, but felt compelled to go anyways. "Ayame-chan, Suzume-chan, we're going to a party tonite!"  
  
"Yay!"  
  
"Yay!"  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, all over Japan, others were being visited by the same cute black kitty (busy, isn't she?) and recieving similar invitations, including Hiko Seijuro, Tae and Tsubame-chan, Makimachi Misao, Shinomori Aoshi, and, of course, Saito Hajime.  
  
"Mwraow!"  
  
"Hmm?" Saito looked down from his paperwork (Being a cop ain't all it's cracked up to be, ne?) to see a small black cat rubbing against his leg.  
  
The kitty looked up at him and jumped in his lap, purring away. She dropped a small pink peice of paper on his thigh, gave his hand a lick, and hopped back onto the floor. She looked back at him one more time before running out of the room.  
  
"Party?...Free soba?" Saito got up from his seat and buttoned his jacket. So much for paperwork...  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, in a newly renovated house that once belonged to Kanryu Takeda, Soba-chan busied herself in the kitchen, making sure everything would be just right. "Mwraow!" That little black kitty just strolled in.  
  
"Phyrexia, you delivered all the invitations?"  
  
"Mwraow."  
  
"Eeeexcellent."  
  
**********  
  
All the guests had arrived and were sitting in their places at the dining room table, awaiting their hostess, and chatting amongst themselves.  
  
Saito and Sanosuke were glaring at each other, having been seated next to each other in some freakish act of cruelty (bahaha...), Hiko-sama was getting started on the sake that had been thoughtfully put on the table near his place while he chatted with his favorite baka deshi, Yahiko was macking it to Tsubame, and Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan were playing with Phyrexia, who had wandered over to them. Genzai-sensei looked like he was falling asleep, as old men often do. Aoshi was, of course, sitting there being silent and whatnot.  
  
Misao, Kaoru, Tae, and Megumi were gossiping and talking.  
  
"Oh Misao, that is the cutest outfit! It's so shiny and it fits you like a glove!"  
  
"Thanks, Kaoru. It's this stuff called latex. It really accentuates my figure. Aoshi-sama still doesn't notice me..."  
  
"Well I've never seen anything like it! And a lot of people in weird clothes come in and out of the restaurant..."  
  
"I must say, that does look splendid on you! It's so hard to find good latex clothing here in Tokyo, did you get it from Kyoto?" Fox ears pop up. "I wouldn't mind having something like that to impress Ken-san! Ohohohohohohoho!"  
  
"Grrrrrr..."  
  
Enter the hostess, just in the nick of time. "Hello, everyone! I see you're all here." Looks around. "Well I think you all know each other, so allow me to introduce myself. I'm Soba-chan, and the black cat is my pet kitty, Phyrexia. We just moved in and I decided to throw this little dinner party as a way to get to know my new neighbors."  
  
"Excuse me. It's not that I don't appreciate the sake..." Hiko-sama refilled his cup. "because I do, but I'm not even from around here. So, why was I invited?"  
  
Soba-chan looked at everyone's faces awaiting an answer and replied,"Time for the first course!" Soba-chan walked back into the kitchen and returned with a cart laden with bowls of miso and plates of squid salad. She put one of each down in front of everyone and took her seat in between Saito and Hiko-sama.  
  
"Wow, this is a lot better than Jo-chan's cooking!"  
  
Before Kaoru could retaliate Soba-chan cut in with the quickness,"Why thank you, Sano. How do you like it, Saito-sama?" Soba-chan gazed at Saito, chewing on a tentacle.  
  
"It's good."  
  
Soba-chan was obviously dissappointed, but she wouldn't let Saito's unenthusiasm (is that a word? well, now it is) ruin her plans. The room was silent save the occasional slurping of soup and Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan's giggling as they watched Phyrexia eat the squid tentacles they gave her. Once everyone had finished, they all stared at Soba-chan, awaiting the night's next surprise. Soba-chan drank the rest of her miso and wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin. She stood and announced, "And now, time for the main course!"  
  
Soba-chan walked into the kitchen and returned with a bigger cart than before. She laid out the platters along the center of the table. There was chicken teriyaki, beef teriyaki, chicken katsu (speaking of which, why didn't I invite him? oh yeah, that whole explosive thing...), sushi rolls, sashimi, buttered biscuits (why not?), and, of course, kake soba! Everything had been cooked to perfection, at least it looked that way.  
  
Everyone put what they wanted on their plate or in their bowl and dug in. Saito took a heaping helping of kake soba, much to Soba-chan's delight. All was going well, until Saito put his first chopstick full of soba noodles into his mouth and began to chew.  
  
Crunch. Crunch. "..." Crunch. Saito swallowed down the lump of raw, hard, noodles with much difficulty.  
  
Everyone had stopped eating at the audible crunching and was staring at Saito, wondering what would happen next.  
  
"HA! Soba-chan forgot to cook the soba noodles!"  
  
Disaster had struck, and in the worst possible way. Tears welled up in Soba-chan's eyes. The one person who she wanted to impress the most, and she had served him his favorite food raw! "I..I'm so sorry!" Soba-chan ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Ahou." Saito rose from the table and walked after Soba-chan.  
  
Everyone stared at Sano. "What? She did forget to cook them!"  
  
"Baka! That girl obviously wants to impress Saito and you made her feel even stupider!"  
  
"Well how was I supposed to know, Jo-chan?"  
  
"Baka..."  
  
**********  
  
A knock at the door. Soba-chan blurted out through her sobs, "Who is it?"  
  
Saito opened the door and entered. Soba-chan gasped. "I.." She put her head in her hands and continued to cry.  
  
"Hey now, there's no need to cry."  
  
"But I ruined everything!"  
  
He sat down on the bed next to her. "No, you just made a mistake. Everything else you cooked was perfect. You just messed up one little thing. It's a great dinner."  
  
"But, the soba was supposed to be the best part! I..I.."  
  
"You wanted to impress me?"  
  
"H..How did you know?" Soba-chan blushed as Saito wiped her tears with his sleeve.  
  
"You think I can't tell? Just because my Tokio has died,(BAHAHAHA, not really, just in my story-Author's note) may she rest in peace, doesn't mean I've lost my knack with the ladies. I'm flattered that you're so upset because you think you messed up your chances with me, but..." And Saito smiled one of those rare, so sexy smiles. "there's really no reason to be upset."  
  
Soba-chan's tears stopped and her eyes and smile widened. "Y..you really mean that?"  
  
"Would I lie to someone who went through so much just to try to please me?" Another smile.  
  
Soba-chan nearly melted. "So, are you going to come back to dinner with me?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
**********  
  
"Hi! I'm back! Sorry about my little outburst. I just can't believe I messed up the soba." Soba-chan sat back down, and everyone continued to eat (the food was still hot, because the food is...magic...).  
  
"Soba-chan, maybe sessha can help you out de gozaru yo?"  
  
Soba-chan blushed. "What do you have in mind, Kenshin?"  
  
"Well do you have a timer? Maybe you could get a new one de gozaru yo?"  
  
"I've just been using the clock to time it myself. I should get a timer. Do you prefer digital or analog?"  
  
"Sessha is an analog man himself, but you seem like a more technologically advanced girl de gozaru yo."  
  
"Thanks a lot, Kenshin." Everyone had finished eating by now and Soba-chan stood. "And now, if everyone would join me in the lounge (I always wanted a lounge of my very own), we can have cakes, coffee, sake, and hot chocolate for the kiddies."  
  
Everyone followed Soba-chan into the lounge and sat on the cushiony sofas and told her what they wanted to drink. She brought them their drinks and sat down. They all talked for hours, getting to know Soba-chan, their new neighbor. At last, when Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan were curled up next to a purring Phyrexia, sleeping, and Genzai-sensei was snoring in a recliner, everyone decided it was time to head out. But they would be back another day, they promised.  
  
"Thanks for the dinner, Soba-chan. Can I come by for meals more often? Jo-chan's cooking really sucks, you know."  
  
Whack! "Thanks for dinner, Soba-chan. You'll have to give me some cooking tips, so you don't have chicken-head over here pestering you all the time."  
  
"Thanks for dinner, Soba-chan! You'll have to come by the restaurant sometime! You get a meal on the house!"  
  
Tsubame yawned out, "Thank you, Soba-chan..."  
  
"I'd say you should come over for dinner sometime, but I wouldn't want Busu to poison you."  
  
"Yahiko..." Kaoru growled.  
  
"Thanks for the food, Soba-chan, bye!"  
  
"Thank you for dinner de gozaru yo."  
  
"Good sake. It's a long walk back to Kyoto...Yo! Baka deshi, I'm staying with you tonite!"  
  
Genzai-sensei walked up to Soba-chan with the two sleeping girls in his arms, "I speak for the girls too when I say that the dinner was wonderful."  
  
"The food was great! They say the way to a man's stomach is through his heart, so you'll have to give me some recipes so I can impress my Aoshi-sama!"  
  
Aoshi-sama just rolled his eyes. "Good food, hope it makes me stronger."  
  
"Good food, if you choke on any dry noodles, come down to the clinic! Ohohohohohohoho!"  
  
Everyone had gone...well, almost everyone.  
  
"If it's okay, I'd like to stay a little longer."  
  
Swoon. "Of course it's okay. You know how I feel about you."  
  
(Now I could end it here, and leave the rest to your imagination, but I'll let you in on what happened.)  
  
"Well, that's what we need to talk about. YOU KILLED MY WIFE! Aku. Soku. Za...Hey, where are you going?!"  
  
Runs away in fear!  
  
"I was just joking!"  
  
Peeks her head out to see Saito in gatotsu stance. "Aaaaaaaaaah!"  
  
THE END 


End file.
